Apparatus for the shrinking or stretching of flexible sheet material



y 1962 s. F. JAMES 3,044,143

APPARATUS FOR THE SHRINKING OR STRETCHING OF FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL Filed Oct. 16, 1959 United States 3,044,143 APPARATUS FGR TIE SIRHJIQNG ()R STRETCH- ING F FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL Sven Fritiof James, London, England Filed Oct. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 846,929 Claims priority, application Great Britain June 30, 1959 9 Claims. (Cl. 2618.6)

This invention relates to apparatus for the shrinking or stretching of flexible sheet material, particularly but not exclusively woven, knitted or other textile fabrics, and has for its object to provide such apparatus of simple form to which suitable flexible sheet material, in the piece or as made up into garments, readily can be applied for treatment.

In general, an apparatus according to the present in- Vention, for the shrinking or stretching of suitable flexible sheet material, comprises a plurality of narrow materialengaging members-hereafter termed engaging mem-- bers-the upper surfaces of which, taken together, occupy the same general plane, each of which upper surfaces has a roughened or serrated formation to engage with the under surface of the material when it is laid and pressed thereon, which engaging members are supported on the surface of a lower fixed member and so interconnected and mounted by lost motion connecting means that (a) they can all be held assembled but slightly separated by narrow gaps between adjacent engaging members, or (b) they can all be moved from the separated position and brought into contact, to eliminate the gaps.

Thus, the area of the supporting surface over which the engaging members extend when separated by the gaps is greater than the area over which the engaging members extend when they are brought into contact, by an amount equal to the total area of all of the gaps.

As a consequence, whenthe flexible sheet material, such as woven cloth, is laid and pressed onto the engaging members by an upper movable pressing member when said engaging members are held opened out, then upon the closing-together of the engaging members the engaged cloth will be compacted in the direction of its length and brought to occupy a smaller area, that is, it will have been shrunk.

Again, when the sheet material such as Woven cloth is laid and pressed onto the engaging members when they are held closed together, then upon separating the engaging members the engaged cloth will be slightly thinned in the direction of its length and brought to occupy a larger area, that is, it will have been stretched.

The upper movable pressing members for pressing the material onto the roughened surfaces of the engaging members and for holding it pressed thereon, can be as desired and be weight or spring operated, and the surface thereof in contact with the sheet material (or a dampening cloth or the like laid over the sheet material) must be polished or glazed, to .allow the material to move thereunder by the pull of the engaging members with but little friction, when the said material is actually being shrunk or stretched.

In most cases, however, the pressing member can be an electrically heated iron, suitably supported and brought into and out of action, said iron preferably being under thermostat control.

The installation can also, if desired, include means combined with the iron or otherwise for supplying steam or moisture to the material being treated or to a covering dampening cloth or the like therefor.

The roughened or serrated formation of the upper surfaces of the engaging members can be effected in a great variety of manners. For instance, they can have alternating V-section ridges and channels, for example 3,044,143 Patented July 17, 1962 2. approximately 0.020" (0.5 mm.) deep, and 0.033" (0.8 mm.) from crest to crest.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention can be of such dimensions that it is possible to treat woven cloth or the like for the full width thereof so that successive portions of a roll of cloth can be treated.

The apparatus can be designed for use in the shaping of various parts of garments during the initial makeup thereof, and is especially useful for shaping such parts of garments located in the areas around the shoulders, bust, waist, hips and seat portions of the garment.

Again, apparatus according to the invention is particularly suitable for restoring to the original condition portions of garments which in wear have been stretched or otherwise deformed.

In order that the invention may be better understood, it will now be described with reference to the accompanying somewhat diagrammatic drawings which are given by way of example only and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of one form of apparatus according to the invention which is particularly suitable for the treatment of trousers which, in wear, have developed baggy knees.

FIG. ,2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan of FIG. 1 with parts broken away.

FIG. 4 is a plan to a larger scale of the materialsupporting portion of the structure.

FIG. 5 is a section on the line VV, FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation partly in section of a portion of FIG. 1, and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are portions of the apparatus in two different positions, shown in section to a greatly enlarged scale, to illustrate the lost motion action.

The apparatus shown in the drawings comprises a flat rectangular supporting plate 9 adapted to be screwed to a table top or the like. The plate 9 is provided adjacent one end with a pair of spaced-apart upwardly projecting brackets 10 having upper and lower flanges the upper flanges of which are fixed to the underside of one end of an elongated built-up plate structure 11 by suitable fastener elements, to support the plate structure 11 parallel to the supporting plate. This plate structure 11 has a central longitudinally extending recess 12 in its upper surface, rounded ends and longitudinally extending parallel sides. The parallel sides have detachable retaining strips 13 with slight inwardly projecting flanges 14 extending throughout their lengths, and outer semicircularshaped detachable retaining members '15 with inwardly projecting curved flanges 16 for attachment to the semicircular ends of the supporting plate.

On the surface and at the mid-position of the supporting plate llthere is fixed an engaging member 17 of stainless steel in the form of an elongated bar of rectangular section so that its length is at right angles to the longitudinal edges of the supporting plate and its narrow width, for example one-quarter of an inch, extends in the longitudinal direction of said plate. Its upper surface is serrated with alternate V-section ridges and channels (not shown in the drawing owing to the smallness of the scale) such as hereinbefore set forth, whichextend longitudinally of the bar. This serrated surface, however, projects to a desired extent above the level of the upper surfaces of the flanges 14 of the retaining strips 13 at the edges of the supporting plate 11.

The upper surface of the supporting plate 11 at one semi-circular end also has slidably mounted thereon a segment-shaped plate 18 the straight edge 19 of which is directed to and parallel with the fixed engaging member 17. At the other end of the supporting plate 11 there is another similar segment shaped plate 20 the straight edge 21 of which is directed to and parallel with the fixed engaging member 17. These segment-shaped plates 18 and are retained and guided by the flanges 16 of the semicircular-shaped retaining members 15 and they have Mounted to slide on the supporting plate 11 and located between the fixed engaging member 17 and the segmental sliding plates 18 and 20, are a number of movable stainless steel engaging members each generally similar to the fixed engaging member 17 in shape, dimensions and disposition.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ends 27 of these movable engaging members are reduced in height to slide beneath the flanges 14 and so that their serrated upper ridged surfaces28 project well above the level of the upper surfaces of these flanges.

In a particular example, there are twenty-five of these movable engaging members 26 (each approximately onequarter of an inch wide) on each side of the fixed engaging member 17, and when fully separated (as hereafter described) with the segmental plates 18 and 29 at the outer extremities of their movement, there is a narrow gap of 0.020 between all adjacent engaging members.

' The movable engaging members 26 are interconnected by lost motion connecting means as shown in FIGS. 7 v and 8 wherein each movable engaging member 26 is bored at 29 from one vertical face to the other, to take a horizontal pin 33 as a sliding clearance fit. This bore 29 is enlarged at one end 31 to accommodate a head 32 on the pin as a sliding fit providing a lost motion connecting means. The pin 30 is a tight force fit into an aligned bore 33 in the next adjacent movable engaging member 26.

To keep these movable engaging members 26 substantially parallel in movemenhand as shown in FIG. 4, two such pins 30 connecteach pair of adjacent engaging members 26, one pin near one end and the other pin not I so near the other end but somewhat displaced to allow for the symmetrical connection of all the engaging memhere. Further, the arrangement is such that the fixed engaging member 17 does not have any'cnlarged bores 31 for the heads 32 of the pins, but only bores 33 into which the pins are a force fit, so that the heads 32 of these sides thereof. Again, the outermost movable members 34 on each side come wholly below the flanges 16 and do not have an upper serrated surface. These special movable members 34 accommodate only the sliding heads 32 and pins 30, and are fixedly secured by screws 35 to the slidable segmental plates 18 and 20.

The arrangement, disposition and dimensions of the parts are such that, as shown in FIG. 7, the head 32 only allows the separation of the adjacent engaging members 26 up to the extent of the gap, that is, 0.020", and when the said adjacent members are in contact to eliminate the gap, as shown in FIG. 8, then the head 32 is still fully accommodated in the enlarged end of the bore 31 in which it is housed, i

From the above 'it will be understood that when the segmental plates 18 and 20 are in their outermost extreme positions (FIG. 4), if they are moved one towards the other in a uniform manner then the gaps, simultaneously from each end of the supporting plate, will be closed successively until they are all closed, and vice versa.

. At the end of the supporting plate 11 which is connected to the brackets 10 upstanding from thebase member, there projects a horizontal bearing plate 36 (FIGS. 1 and 4) to take a vertical spindle 37 the upper end of which has fixed thereto a two-armed crank lever 38. One crank pin 39 has connected thereto one end of a short link 49, the other end of which link is pivoted to the pin 22- projecting below the nearest and adjacent segmental plate 18. The other crank pin 41 is connected by a long link for the apparatus.

pins face away from the fixed engaging member on both segmental plate 20. Both links pass into the gap 12.

The arrangement is such that when the vertical spindle 37 is turned in one direction through a defined angle, the movable engaging members 26 are separated, and when turned in the other direction these engaging members are closed together. From the position shown in FIG. 4, where the gaps are open, upon turning the spindle 37 in a counter-clockwise direction the segmental plates 18 and 2t) and all the movable engaging members 26 will be moved towards the fixed engaging member '17, and all the gaps will be closed.

The base plate 9 has a lower bearing for the vertical spindle 37 which towards the lower end has a crank disc 43 (FIG. 3) the crank pin of which is connected by a link 44 to a two-armed lever pivoted at 45 in the base plate 9, the outer arm 46 of which constitutes the operating handle By moving this handle 46 in a clockwise direction (FIG. 3) through a desired angle, the mechanism effects the separation of the engaging members, and by then moving it in the other direction, the closing-together of such engaging members. The closedtogether position is shown in FIG. 3.

The base plate 9 has fixed thereto two similar spacedapart upwardly projecting brackets 47 the upper ends of which have bearings for a horizontal spindle 48 which has fixed thereto two connected shaped levers 49 the outer ends of which support a carrying spindle 50 for apertured carriers 51 to which the upper part of the casing of a rectangular-shaped electric iron 52 is adjustably connected by studs and nuts. The lower polished or glazed pressing surface 53 of this iron when in the lowered position (shown dotted in FIG. 2) is located in the plane of the ridged surfaces 28 of the engaging members 17 and 26.

The connection of the carriers 51 to the spindle 50 is such that the iron can have a slight angular motion about the said spindle so that it always lies flat on the ridged surfaces 28.

The spindle 48 has a lever 54 fixed at each end, the other end of which lever is connected by a tension spring 55 to a pin 56 on the adjacent supporting bracket 47. The springs 55 in the out-of-action full-line position (FIG. 2) of the iron are located on one side of a dead centre of the levers to hold the iron in the raised position. In this position, shaped portions of the levers 49 are kept pulled onto an abutting stop 57 which connects the brackets 47 towards their upper ends. The iron 52 has an operating handle 58 by which it tis-turned to bring the springs 55 to and past the dead centre by a desired angle to the operating position of the iron (dotted line 'FIG. 2) where it is held pressed on to the ridged engaging members.

Inthe enlarged views shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, 59 is the material to be shrunk which is located between the ridged upper surfaces of the movable engaging members 26 (the fixed engaging member .17 is similarly ridged) and the polished surface 53 of the iron 52. Where the engaging members are separated by the gaps as shown in FIG. 7, the longitudinal dimension between the extremities of the members shown in this figure is D. When they are brought together, compactingthe material 59 longitudinally, this dimension is reduced to d, which is less than D by the total dimensions of the gaps.

In operation, to shrink the front portion of the baggy knee of one leg of a pair of trousers, the engaging members 26 are set into and held in the separated position (FIG. 4). Then the waist end of the trousers leg is drawn over the free end of the supporting plate 11 with its engaging members, and the said leg portion brought into such a position that the normal crease down the front of the knee is located centrally and in the longitudinal direction of the supporting plate. Then this portion of the fabric is pressed down by hand on to the'ridged upper surfaces 28 of the engaging members. A dampened cloth is then laid over this portion of the fabric of the trousers leg and then the iron 52 is loweredfto exert pressure thereon.

This is immediately followed by bringing the engaging members 26 to the closed position, which compacts together the fabric such as 59 engaged by the engaging members; the pressure is then maintained for a desired period, to render the shrinking permanent.

Stretching may be as readily effected by first setting the engaging members 26 into the closed position (FIG. 3) and this treatment may be used for restoring the crumpling-up or wrinkling at the rear portion of the knee of a trousers leg. Similarly, this stretching treatment could be given to the upwardly crumpled or shrunken lower portions of trousers legs, or even to the pulled or workedup ends of coat sleeves or the like.

What I claim is:

1. A cloth pressing apparatus of the type comprising a first member with a surface to receive and support the cloth, and a second member with a surface adapted in one position to contact the cloth and retain it in pressed relation with the first member, together with means whereby the second member can be moved into position in relation to the first member to hold the cloth pressed between the two said surfaces, in which the construction includes a plurality of similar narrow cloth-engaging members supported to move on said first member, each such narrow cloth-engaging member having an outer surface which is co-planar with the outer surfaces of the other cloth-engaging members, and each such outer surface having a serrated formation to frictionally engage with and hold the adjacent surface of the cloth when it is pressed thereto, slidable connecting means interconnecting adjacent cloth engaging members to permit said members to move laterally with respect to one another such that in one position the cloth-engaging members are all held assembled together but slightly separated by narrow gaps of uniform spacing between adjacent clothengaging members and from which position they can all be relatively moved to another position in which adjacent cloth-engaging members are brought into contact with one another throughout their entire lengths to eliminate the gaps, the other said surface having a smooth polished finish to allow the cloth pressed between the two said surfaces of the first and second members and held in engagement with the serrations on the outer surfaces of the cloth-engaging members, to move with the cloth-engaging members when these latter are moved, and means for moving the cloth-engaging members to and from the positions having the gaps or where the gaps are eliminated.

2. YA cloth-pressing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the cloth-engaging members are formed as narrow elongated bars of rectangular section, mounted to move side by side in parallel relation on said first member having a plain supporting surface, and said interconnecting means including lost motion connecting means between adjacent bars permitting the bars to be moved apart to form narrow gaps extending throughout their lengths, and moved together into intimate contact throughout their lengths to eliminate the gaps.

3. A cloth pressing apparatus comprising a lower fixed member having a surface to receive the cloth, an upper movable heated presser head having a surface adapted to contact the cloth and retain it in pressed relation with respect to the first member, a plurality of narrow rectilinear cloth engaging members of uniform rectangular section slidably supported on the surface of the lower fixed member, each cloth engaging member being provided with an outer serrated surface which is co-planar with the serrated surfaces of the other cloth engaging members to frictionally engage and hold the adjacent surface of the cloth when it is pressed thereagainst by said presser head, lost motion connecting means provided between each adjacent pair of cloth engaging members arranged such that in one extreme position of the connection the adjacent members of the pair are separated by a narrow gap of uniform spacing throughout its length, while in the other extreme position are in contactual engagement throughout their length, whereby in one extreme position the cloth engaging members are arranged in assembled relation but slightly separated with the narrow gaps therebetween, and iri the other extreme position can be brought into contact with one another throughout their lengths to eliminate the gaps, the pressing surface of the upper movable pressing head having a smooth polished finish to permit the cloth pressed between the surfaces of the lower fixed member and upper presser head and held in engagement with the serrations on the outer surfaces of the cloth engaging members to move with the cloth engaging members when the same are moved, and means for moving the cloth engaging members in a direction at right angles to their length toward and away from one another.

4. A cloth pressing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, in which the narrow cloth engaging members are combined with a further elongated fixed bar of rectangular section having a serrated cloth engaging outer surf-ace in the same plane with the serrated surfaces of the movable cloth engaging members, said fixed bar being supported on the surface of the lower fixed member and positioned such that there is a plurality of interconnected movable cloth engaging members on each side thereof, and is connected to an adjacent movable cloth engaging member on each side by connecting means, and means for moving the movable cloth engaging member of each side which is most remote from the fixed cloth engaging bar simultaneously toward and away from the fixed cloth engaging bar. 7

5. A cloth pressing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, in which the narrow rectilinear cloth engaging members are combined with a further narrow elongated fixed bar of rectangular section having a serrated cloth engaging outer surface lying in the same plane with the serrated surfaces of the movable cloth engaging members, said fixed bar being supported on the surface of the lower fixed member and arranged such that there is a plurality of interconnected movable cloth engaging members on each side thereof and is connected to an adjacent movable cloth engaging member on each side by connecting means similar to the connecting means between adjacent movable cloth engaging members, and means for moving the cloth engaging member'o-f each side at the most remote point from the fixed cloth engaging bar simultaneously toward and away from the fixed cloth engaging bar, the lower fixed member which supports the cloth engaging members having retaining means fixed to its edges consisting of inwardly projecting flanges extending over and guiding reduced end portions of the movable engaging members, the cloth engaging members being of such thickness that the serrated surfaces thereof project above the upper surfaces of the flanges.

6. A cloth pressing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, in which the narrow cloth engaging members are combined with a further elongated fixed rectilinear bar of rectangular section having a serrated cloth engaging outer surface in the same plane with the serrated surfaces of the movable cloth engaging members, said fixed bar being secured to the surface of the lower fixed member and positioned such that a plurality of interconnected cloth engaging members are arranged on each side thereof, said fixed bar being connected to an adjacent movable cloth member on each side for relative sliding movement, means for moving the movable cloth engaging member of each side which is most remote from the fixed cloth engaging bar simultaneously toward and simultaneously away from the fixed cloth engaging bar, the lower fixed member which supports the cloth engaging members having retaining means fixed to its edges comprising an inwardly directed flange to extend over, guide and retain reduced end portions of the movable cloth en gaging members, said cloth engaging members being of a thickness such that the serrated surfaces thereof project above said flanges, and a pair of slides on the surface I w s, 143

7. A cloth pressing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in j which the narrow rectilinear cloth engaging members are combined with an additional narrowelongated fixed rectilinear bar of rectangular section having a serrated cloth engaging surface lying in the same plane with the serrated surfaces of the movable cloth engaging members, said} fixed bar being supported on the lowerfixed member and positioned such that there is a plurality of interconnected movable cloth engaging members on each side thereof, said fixed bar being connected to an adjacent movable cloth engaging member on each side, means for moving the movable cloth engaging member of each side which is most remote from the fixed cloth engaging 'bar so' thatsaid narrow rectilinear cloth engaging memberswill be moved simultaneously toward and away from the fixed;

cloth engaging bar upon operation of said means, the lower fixed member which supports the cloth engaging members being provided with an inwardlydirected flange to extend over reduced outer end portions of the movable cloth engaging members, said cloth engaging members being of such a thickness that the serrated surfaces thereof project above the upper surface of said flange, a slide on the lower fixed member at each end thereof, pins attached to each slide extending'downwardly through slots in said lower fixed member, links connected to said pins,

a manual operating shaft having a pair of crank arms connected to the respective links and an operating handle on said shaft for rotating the latter. v V

8. A cloth pressing apparatus comprising a lower fixed member, an upper movable heated presser head arranged 'to cooperate with said fixed member and having a su-r face adapted to contact the cloth placed on the lower fixed member and retain it in pressed relation with the fixed member, a plurality, of narrow rectilinear cloth engaging members of rectangular section movably supported 7 on thesurface of the lower fixed member, said cloth engaging members being provided with serrated surfaces lying in the same plane to engage and hold the surface of the cloth-when it is pressed thereagainst by the upper movable presser head, connecting pins interconnecting each adjacent pair of cloth engaging members, said pins being provided with a shank portion and a head portion with the shank portion received in one of said pair of cloth engaging members and the head portion being slid- V ably received in a stepped bore in the other cloth engaging member of said pair, the arrangement being such that when adjacent cloth engaging members are spaced apart a distance limited by said connecting pins the head abuts the stepped bore and when the adjacent cloth engaging members arein contact with one another the head of said pin is moved to a position toward the other end of the bore, the upper movable presser head being provided with a smooth polished surface to allow the cloth pressed by said head and held in engagement with said serrations to move with the cloth engaging members when the same are moved in a lateral direciiion'relative one to the other, and means for moving the cloth engaging members from a position in which they are spaced apart to a position in which they are in contactual engagement. 1 n

9. A cloth pressing apparatus comprising a lower fixed platen member having a surface to support the cloth, an upper movable heated presser head associated with said platen having a surface adapted to cooperate with the platen surface to press the cloth placed therebetween, a plurality of narrow rectilinear cloth engaging members of rectangular section movably supported on the surface of said platen, each cloth engaging member being provided on its upper edge with a'ser rated surface in. which all of the serrated surfaces are arranged in substantially the same plane, each adjacent pair of said cloth engaging members being movably connected to move in a direction normal to their length, headed pins having a shank portion received in one of said pair of adjacent cloth engaging members with the head thereof received in a stepped bore in an adjacent engaginglmember of said pair, said bore being shaped to permit sliding movement of the head end of said pin to permit said adjacent engaging members to be spaced apart a slight distance with the head of the pin providing a limit stop to control the spacing of said members, said cloth engaging members being connected by said pins such that in one extreme position they are arranged in slightly spaced relation to form narrow gaps therebetweenand in'the other extreme position they are moved into contactual engagement throughout their lengths to eliminate the gaps, said presser head having a smooth polished surface to permit the cloth pressed be tween the surfaces of the lower platen and presser head to be held in engagement with the serrations on the other surfaces of the cloth engaging members and to move with the cloth engaging members when the same are moved, an additional narrow elongated fixed rectilinear bar of rectangular section having a serrated cloth engaging surface in the same plane with the other serrated surfaces of said cloth engaging members, said fixed bar being arranged and supported on the surface of the platen, so that a plurality of movable cloth engaging members are arranged on opposite sides of said fixed bar, headed pin connectors for slidably connecting adjacent movable cloth engaging members to opposite sides of said fixed bar, means for moving the cloth engaging member of each side which is most remote from the fixed cloth engaging bar to simultaneously move said cloth engaging members toward and away from said fixed bar, a flange extending upwardly from said platen having an inwardly directed portion to slidably receive reduced end portions of the cloth engaging members, said cloth engaging members being of such a thickness as to project above the upper surface of the flanges. e

Cluett et a1 May 12, 1943 Moses i Aug. 22, 1950 

